Country Level Events formed part of the Strategic Capacity Development Component delivered by the UK Built Environment Advisory Group (UKBEAG) in collaboration with UN-Habitat, in support of the UK FCDO Global Future Cities Programme. The focus of each event was informed by the findings of the online Capacity Needs Assessment and was agreed in discussion with UN-Habitat, UK FCDO, the delivery partners and city stakeholders. Several events focused on the effective use of data, some on integrated and inclusive planning and others on integrated transport. The underlying theme in many of the events turned out to be governance and collaboration, with many of the cities recognising the potential for delivering more effective outcomes simply by working better together.
The Country-level Events were launched on 13 October 2021 in Nigeria and concluded on 3 February 2022 in South Africa.
The Country-level Events provided an opportunity to bring together stakeholders from the various projects within each city, and/or the various cities within each country, to engage in a more focused discussion on topics of common interest. The aims of the Country-level Events were to:
- celebrate the work that has been undertaken while building on the momentum that has been achieved and considering the ways in which synergies and shared learning can best be exploited as the projects begin to move from design to implementation
- promote awareness of and engagement with the work being undertaken among a wide variety of stakeholders, including central government, local government, academia, the built environment professions, the private sector and others
- engage with a variety of subject matter experts on a range of key issues arising from a Capacity Needs Assessment that had been undertaken by the cities some months previously.
The events were supported by a range of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who brought their knowledge and expertise to bear. The contributions from the Subject Matter Experts were also informed by the six topics which formed part of the Thematic Programme that had been delivered earlier in the year, namely:
1. Integrated & Inclusive Planning
2. Governance & Collaboration
3. Evidence-based Design & the Effective use of Data
4. Project Finance & Procurement
5. Implementation & Enforcement, Monitoring & Evaluation
6. Leadership & Change Management